Most people felt that a carbohydrate meal made them sleepy and a protein meal made them energetic.

My naturopathic doctor recommended the carbohydrate meal in the middle of the day and a protein based meal in the evening because 'proteins are easier to digest'.

I guess, if it is a snack last thing at night I'd try Lolas idea and see how you do. Personally I'd go easy on the nutbutter, because fats late at night give me nightmares :)

Posted by: Spring, Saturday, February 25, 2012, 7:32pm; Reply: 3

Funny, but my mother used to have a little peanut butter and a spoon of ice cream before she went to bed because it helped her sleep! :D The ice cream alone would have me howling to the moon almost!

Posted by: san j, Saturday, February 25, 2012, 8:05pm; Reply: 4

When I was doing Ayurveda, I was to have a shot of warm cream at bedtime.The rx really was for warm milk, but I preferred warm cream. Ideally, this should be spiced. A dash of nutmeg, for instance. If I had leftover spiced tea, I'd add a teaspoon of that instead: Licorice spice tea, or chai.Something comforting about the bedtime ritual, too.

Posted by: Maja, Sunday, February 26, 2012, 2:00am; Reply: 5

Greetings all:

Thanks for the observations and suggestions.

Lola offered a gluten-free focaccia recipe that looks delicious. Right now, I eat rice cakes and that's about it . .

San J suggested spiced, warm milk. For me it will be almond milk (unsweetened) and a little chai . .

Most people felt that a carbohydrate meal made them sleepy and a protein meal made them energetic.

Apparently - the best bedtime snack is one that has both complex carbohydrates and protein, and perhaps some calcium. Calcium helps the brain use the tryptophan to manufacture melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods.

Posted by: cajun, Sunday, February 26, 2012, 3:55am; Reply: 7

I agree, Possum! Thats why I take my phytocal at night. ;) I eat a spoonful of peanut butter or eat a handful of nuts, drink a soothing tea such as green, chamomile or gingeroot , get tired and sleep well all night! 8)

Apparently - the best bedtime snack is one that has both complex carbohydrates and protein, and perhaps some calcium. Calcium helps the brain use the tryptophan to manufacture melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods.

Possum, this is very good information. Thanks for sharing. What would be your recommendation for Type O's, who cannot have most dairy products?

Posted by: Possum, Sunday, February 26, 2012, 4:58am; Reply: 9

Calcium tablets or other foods high in calcium - can you eat sesame seeds by any chance?

Posted by: balletomane, Sunday, February 26, 2012, 5:16am; Reply: 10

Yes, it's a diamond! So tahini might be a good choice? Coz eating the seeds themselves don't satisfy me at all ;-)

Sprouted or germinated almonds are those which have been soaked in water for a period of time. The soaking disables the naturally present enzyme inhibitors of the nuts so that they can be easily digested by their own enzymes, rather than by pulling the enzymes from your body to digest them.

Soak the almonds for 8-24 hours (no more) in a covered bowl with enough good quality water to allow for expansion of the almonds. If you aren't ready to use the almonds after soaking, place the bowl in the refrigerator. Do not refrigerate the nuts while germinating them.

Germinating to disable enzyme inhibitors applies to most nuts and seeds, though not all. Generally, the softer the nut, the less the need to germinate. Pine nuts, for example, require no germination.

Although the word "sprouting" is used, true sprouts do not appear for most nuts and seeds. Given raw nuts and seeds are used, however, planting of the nuts or seeds would commence plant growth--they're truly living foods.

Posted by: Victoria, Sunday, February 26, 2012, 9:15pm; Reply: 17

I buy germinated almonds from a local company, just to save time because everything I eat seems to take so much time in the kitchen. ;) They soak organic almonds for 12 hours. Then they drain and rinse with a sea salt solution. Then the almonds are dehydrated, which gives them a nice little crunch. They call them Awakened Almonds and as ABJoe described, there are no visible sprouts.

I saw on a program the other day to take two tablespoons of pure almond nut butter before bed. It is supposed to keep your blood sugar stabilized while you sleep and help you sleep better. Anyone care to comment on that?

Posted by: Victoria, Monday, February 27, 2012, 2:43am; Reply: 19

I love almond butter and so does my body. I don't think it would cause any problems for me to eat it late in the evening, but as far as the portion amount, I would go by my 'Dr. D food list'.

Posted by: Melissa_J, Monday, February 27, 2012, 4:56am; Reply: 20

My son has to have a bedtime snack to keep his blood sugar stable. He's an A so I'll have to push the peanut butter for him...don't know why I hadn't thought of that. (He doesn't like almond butter, but it would be good for him too.

I saw on a program the other day to take two tablespoons of pure almond nut butter before bed. It is supposed to keep your blood sugar stabilized while you sleep and help you sleep better. Anyone care to comment on that?

Since it has a balance of carbs, fats and protein, it makes sense that it will keep the body pretty stable for a while...

Posted by: deblynn3, Monday, February 27, 2012, 5:37pm; Reply: 26

Thank's ABJoe I'll print me one. Sesame seeds have jumped around on my list, but is a bene. for both WH and myself per. swami. So this would be a nice rice cake topping. I think.

Posted by: Jane, Monday, February 27, 2012, 5:53pm; Reply: 27

If you don't want to make your own, you can buy it in places like Whole Foods.

Posted by: Tom Martens, Monday, February 27, 2012, 5:57pm; Reply: 28

Taking your Erfyt supps and drinking some Harmonia Deluxe would be ideal.

If you don't want to make your own, you can buy it in places like Whole Foods.

Thanks, sadly WF is 85 miles away. I will look next time I go there. For some reason I just enjoy making this kind of stuff. I know what's there and how old it really is etc. Right now I've got about 3 cups of seeds in the refrigerator, I need to use them up.

Thanks for the reminder about whole foods. I'll put it on the list of things to look for.

Posted by: geminisue, Monday, February 27, 2012, 8:58pm; Reply: 30

ABJOE & VICTORIA thank you both, for the answers about germinated almonds. I will now, start soaking my almonds!

Thank's ABJoe I'll print me one. Sesame seeds have jumped around on my list, but is a bene. for both WH and myself per. swami. So this would be a nice rice cake topping. I think.

Keep in mind that tahini can be bitter. I like to add it to savory dishes like great northern bean "hummus", where the bitterness is not as predominant.

Posted by: Lin, Monday, February 27, 2012, 10:34pm; Reply: 32

Maja, Great post as I always want a night time snack, I guess most of us do!

I often have Peanut butter on a rice cake at night, with green tea or rooibos tea with a little almond milk. I will now plan to try some of the ideas everyone has suggested including taking my calcium at night.Thanks to all.Lin

Posted by: mikeo, Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 3:22am; Reply: 33

I drink Tulsi tea with agave and lemon and a buckwheat biscuit...lights out

Posted by: Victoria, Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 6:24pm; Reply: 34

I think that a lightly toasted rice cake, topped with some kind of compliant nut or seed butter is a perfect late evening snack. Great comfort food!

(If anyone doesn't want to eat a sweet potato with ghee and fall asleep on the way to bed!) ;)

We're all unique individuals. What works for one may not work for another.

Like the suggestion to eat carbs at night rather than protien. Well, if eat carbs at night, I get drowsy and have no trouble falling asleep. But then I have trouble staying asleep, as I get a blood sugar crash in the middle of the night, and then I have a choice between tossing and turning for hours or getting up and having a snack in the middle of the night so I can go back to sleep.

If I have a hard boiled egg (or 3) before bed, I can fall asleep just fine, and stay asleep. Too full a stomach may keep me awake, but I've never found any foods "too energizing" to let me sleep.

If I'm hungry at bedtime at all, I need a small, high protein snack so I'll neither be "stuffed" nor have a blood sugar crash a couple of hours later. It's a viscious cycle- I'm hungry so I wake up, and then when I eat I'm too full to sleep. If I eat nothing after dinner, or only very low-carb snacks, I sleep a lot better.

... if eat carbs at night, I get drowsy and have no trouble falling asleep. But then I have trouble staying asleep, as I get a blood sugar crash in the middle of the night, and then I have a choice between tossing and turning for hours or getting up and having a snack in the middle of the night so I can go back to sleep...

If I'm hungry at bedtime at all, I need a small, high protein snack so I'll neither be "stuffed" nor have a blood sugar crash a couple of hours later. It's a viscious cycle- I'm hungry so I wake up, and then when I eat I'm too full to sleep. If I eat nothing after dinner, or only very low-carb snacks, I sleep a lot better.

Have you been clinically diagnosed as hypoglycemic? This seems like a somewhat hyperreactive response to a snack. :-/

The only thing I've been clinically diagnosed with is fibromyalgia. I was also diagnosed with "gestational diabetes" when I was pregnant with my son. That diagnoses "expired" when he was born, but I definitely have issues with blood sugar control. I'm sure I'd be diabetic "for real" if I'd been eating the SAD for the past 10 years- fortunately, I never stopped the "low sugar/low GI" diet I was given when pregnant with him, and my glucose has stayed basically stable.

I can easily get out of balance, and I can feel when that happens, so I eat in ways to prevent that. One night of waking up to eat was enough for me to change my bedtime snack!

My lab tests have always been good, and last year's lab work (the first time I requested copies of everything) included A1C, a test given to diabetics to assess blood sugar control over time.

Posted by: Victoria, Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 9:54pm; Reply: 38

I don't like the ways my blood sugar feels if carbs are eaten alone. A little fat and some protein with the carbohydrates works best for me. Thus - baked sw. potato with ghee and crushed almonds or toasted rice cake with nut butter.

Posted by: Spazcat, Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 10:10pm; Reply: 39

I like a small piece of cinn/raisin mochi with some ghee and almond butter. Maybe some tea along with that..... licorice or ginger are faves.

I just had some buckwheat cereal that tasted mighty good with banana. Haven't had any buckwheat in a long time.

Posted by: cajun, Saturday, March 3, 2012, 9:03pm; Reply: 44

Spring,When I first began the GTD I made hot buckwheat cereal and loved it. I then found buckwheat flakes, as a cold cereal, and have them about twice a week with blueberries!Buckwheat digests/agrees very well with me.Spazcat,I am going to look for mochi! yum!

Posted by: Drea, Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 12:10am; Reply: 45

I used to be a big "snack-before-bed" person, but I've been drinking a pot of tulsi (holy basil) tea after dinner, and that satisfies me all on its own. No snack necessary! :D

I used to be a big "snack-before-bed" person, but I've been drinking a pot of tulsi (holy basil) tea after dinner, and that satisfies me all on its own. No snack necessary! :D

Yeah, I'm not relating to the whole bedtime snack idea.In fact, though there are exceptions, I generally don't eat anything 2-3 (or more) hours before retiring.

Posted by: D.L., Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 12:32am; Reply: 47

Two hours before bedtime I take calcium/magnesium, vitamin D3, potassium, and a baby aspirin with water. I don't snack. I sleep fine (unless I have to get up to use the bathroom because I waited too late to take my supplements and water). Breakfast is a problem, though, to break the fasting, since I am allergic to grains, dairy, eggs, etc, and am pre-diabetic. I usually have an apple with peanut butter, but that doesn't hold me very long. Then, if I go too long without something substantial, I get dizzy, feel weird, and almost faint.

I saw on a program the other day to take two tablespoons of pure almond nut butter before bed. It is supposed to keep your blood sugar stabilized while you sleep and help you sleep better. Anyone care to comment on that?

As an Explorer both without a gallbladder and challenged liver I can handle soaked, dehydrated almonds as they are not too 'fatty' for me and I grind them in a dedicated coffee grinder with some flaxseed oil and then go to bed.I am fortunate that the flax seed oil is easy on my liver for whatever reason and I can take it before bed. Go figure! Now, if I did this with olive oil it would just repeat on me. Almond butter would be far to heavy for me with the oil that is in it. Again, individuality right?

This is an interesting site about the body/organ cycles according to Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Spring,When I first began the GTD I made hot buckwheat cereal and loved it. I then found buckwheat flakes, as a cold cereal, and have them about twice a week with blueberries! Buckwheat digests/agrees very well with me.

Cajun, I am so happy to have buckwheat, and it agrees with me too! The flakes I got from Vitacost are the best I've ever had. I wish I had ordered four instead of one little measly box of it!! It is so good. I am thoroughly enjoying Amaranth and Millet too. :D

Now that you mention it, I have been sleeping through the night...interesting! I love the taste, it helps me not eat after dinner, and it may be helping me sleep, too! :D

I'm going to order some and see what it does for me... Sometimes I have trouble sleeping, but I don't want to feel drugged. The reviews indicate that it doesn't make people feel that way. Good!

Posted by: Victoria, Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 5:50am; Reply: 53

I believe that holy basil helps the body clear cortisol, among other benefits.

Posted by: Spring, Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 2:13pm; Reply: 54

Wow, I have been reading about holy basil again - I had sort of forgotten about it. This stuff is powerful!! And, as is the case with most herbals, it is good for a host of things. Wish I had known about it when my mother and mother-in-law were living. Neither of them could sleep very well. And the stuff is even good for flu and colds. Aching muscles etc. People even put the tea in a humidifier for babies sick with bad colds. Wow, again!

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 6:29pm; Reply: 55

Where do you find this holy basil tea? And is it OK for O's?

Posted by: cajun, Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 9:52pm; Reply: 56

I need to try the millet and amaranth cold cereal. Variety is good. ;)

Posted by: Drea, Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 11:42pm; Reply: 57

I buy Tulsi tea at the health food store. I like the loose-leaf. Try the unflavored first (I prefer the unflavored over the flavored), you may like the taste as I do.

I don't know Dr. D's opinion on Tulsi. It's especially recommended for type A's and B's for dealing with stress. I have not seen it mentioned one way or the other for type O's. I'd consider it the same as Basil, since it is in the family.

Keep in mind that tahini can be bitter. I like to add it to savory dishes like great northern bean "hummus", where the bitterness is not as predominant.

Drea, are you a super-taster? I am, but there is something about the odd taste of sesame that appeals to me and always has. :D

Posted by: Drea, Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 1:14am; Reply: 61

I'm not a supertaster.

I like the brand of Tulsi tea that Victoria mentioned. It's the one I drink. I have tried other brands, but keep coming back to this one.

Posted by: Spunky, Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 9:26am; Reply: 62

Nuts and seeds and their butters have always been my fave bedtime snack. Funny because I was always told that eating nuts before bed was bad for your digestion ;D Sometimes I add a bit of rice cake in there if I'm feeling I need it.

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 7:09pm; Reply: 63

So tulsi-holy basil? Two names for the same thing?

The first place I'll look for it is in the local HFS bulk bins. If it's not there, I've got a few more places to check. I rarely need to buy food online.

Posted by: Drea, Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 7:55pm; Reply: 64

Ruth, I've not seen Tulsi (holy basil) in the bulk tea section; I buy it loose leaf in the tea section (it comes in a canister).

Posted by: grey rabbit, Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 8:26pm; Reply: 65

I buy the same brand of Tulsi tea as Victoria and Drea. It is often on sale at the local HFS. I think it is recommended by Dr. D in one of the protocols for type A, it's where I first heard of it.

Grey Rabbit, since I'm also an A its good to know that it is recommended by Dr. D.

Joy

Posted by: grey rabbit, Thursday, March 8, 2012, 6:12pm; Reply: 68

Holy Basil extract is part of the type A Antistress Protocol found on page 470 of the encyclopedia. I figure if the extract is good for As then the tea should be fine :) Makes me feel good anyway and I've noticed a huge reduction in my stress response if I drink some before an exam.

Posted by: Joy, Thursday, March 8, 2012, 6:27pm; Reply: 69

Grey Rabbit,

Good info. I'm on my second cup of the day. Approximately how many cups do you drink per day on average?

And, do you drink it at bedtime to help sleep?

Joy

Posted by: grey rabbit, Thursday, March 8, 2012, 8:23pm; Reply: 70

I usually have two cups a day and sometimes I have some before bed and sometimes I have camomile tea instead, they are both very good for type As :)

Posted by: cajun, Friday, March 9, 2012, 12:56am; Reply: 71

I love chamomile tea before bed! It sort of helps me drift off.....I also enjoy ginger/green , lemon/ginger or gingeroot tea before bed.